....is My Pages

Not Everything I Make....

Friday, April 27, 2012

This was my side project for Mr. & Mrs. M my last few weeks with them before I moved.

The Problem

Their house has an under the stairs closet and they've had a hard time finding how best to use it. The space is a little awkward and has the potential to be a junk closet if they didn't give it a specific purpose. After talking to them, and collaborating over the phone with my boyfriend I came up with a few options. I didn't have the exact dimensions of the closet when I drew these up so you'll notice the shape changes in the final design. I got a little playful with a few of them and they're pretty diagrammatic.

The Design

The main difference between the options were laying the bottles on their side or cantilevering them from the wall. While the cantilevered bottles were dramatic and could create an interesting pattern it wasn't going to work in the actual space. It would be more difficult to install and have less room for error. Instead we went with shelves along the wall with a routed groove to keep the bottles from rolling off. Pine 1x6's would create both the structure and the shelves.

One board gets screwed into the wall the second is placed perpendicular to the wall and glued in place. That pattern get repeated up the wall where the board on top of each shelf against the wall holds the shelf in place. A few screws, a little wood glue and gravity, is all it takes to hold this lovely piece together. To make sure this system would work we did a test.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Hey Michaela, here's my favorite brunch! I'd like to think it's a little fancy, it's definitely colorful and could be dressed up pretty easily. I had it with Mr. & Mrs. M for Easter but with Mother & Fathers Day is coming up, it would be perfect for breakfast in bed (should I tell your Husband to get on it?) or any weekend brunch.

Part One

Slow Roasted Tomatoes with Bagels & Lox

Slow Roasted TomatoesSlice 8 or more Tomatoes thickly.
Rub with Olive Oil and Salt
Bake at 275 for 3-5 Hours

(These can be made the day before and kept in a little extra olive oil for up to a week.)

Bagels & Lox

4 Bagels, Halved

1 Package Cream Cheese

2 Avocados, Sliced

1/2 Red Onion, Thinly Sliced

1 Package Lox

1 Package Prosciutto

2-4 Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Part Two

Honied Pears & Goat Cheese

4 Pears, Sliced

1/4 Cup Honey, Warmed

4 oz. Goat Cheese, Crumbled

(Use the back of a spoon to get the Goat Cheese out of the package or cheat and buy pre-crumbled.)

Place the Nuts, Sugar, Cinnamon & Orange Zest in a food processor and grind until Nuts are finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl.

Place a sheet of Phyllo Dough on a work surface. Keep the remaining sheets covered with a damp towel after each sheet is used. Brush the sheet of Phyllo Dough with Butter, top with another sheet Phyllo and brush with more Butter.

Lightly spread the sheet Phyllo with some of the Nut Mixture.

Roll the dough and cut Roll with a sharp knife into 3 to 4 pieces. Place the Rolls on a lined baking sheet, seem side down.

Continue with remaining sheets of Phyllo Dough and remaining Nut Mixture. Bake in a preheated oven at 375-degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then drizzle with honey.